Genus Catalpa, Scop., Walt. (Catalpa)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - broad egg-shape or heart-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - heart-shape. Leaf - five to eight inches wide; smooth above, downy below, especially on the ribs. Bark - of trunk, a silver-gray, only slightly furrowed. Flowers - very showy and fragrant, in large, upright pyramid-shaped clusters; white or violet-tinged, spotted inside with yellow and purple. July. Fruit - in long, rounded pods (six to twelve inches long, about half an inch in diameter), with the seeds winged and fringed. They often remain throughout the winter. October. Found - new very widely naturalized throughout the Middle and Southern Atlantic States, though formerly a rare and local Southern tree. General Information - A low, very ornamental tree, usually twenty to thirty feet high. Its seeds and bark are considered medicinal. Another species, C. speciosa, Ward, larger and of more value, is sometimes met with in Southern Illinois and the adjoining States. Catalpa is probably a corruption of the Indian word Catawba, which was the name of an important tribe that occupied a large part of Georgia and the Carolinas.

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